Me Jana: welcome and happy times

Me Jana is an old Lebanese folk ballad sung to welcome friends, share happy times and reminisce about the old times.


Me Jana's patio was perfect for a September evening

Me Jana, 2300 Wilson Blvd., in Arlington, Virginia, is a Lebanese restaurant where friends and I were made welcome, we shared happy times and reminisced about the old. It is a restaurant that we liked so well a year ago that we ate there three times over the course of as many days.  Returning last week, we again managed to squeeze in two visits during our whirlwind trip to Washington, DC.

It was the lamb chops that drew us back. We weren't disappointed.

.Last year we sat around one of the outside tables on each of the warm East Coast evenings we dined there, shared plate upon plate of mezes (tapas) and desserts, while sipping excellent Lebanese wines that we've never found elsewhere. It felt like 'coming home' when we returned this year. 

Accolades are framed and fill the walls (including Zagat).  I am surprised to read on-line reviews noting Me Jana's high prices:  obviously the reviewers haven't dined in Seattle.  From our Pacific Northwest point of view our feast was a steal!  The lamb chops are not to be missed.

Getting there: Hop the Metro orange line and get off at Courthouse station, Me Jana is an easy quick couple blocks away.

We forced ourselves away from Me Jana one evening to return to another favorite; this one in downtown Washington, DC.  The Oval Room, 800 Connecticut Ave. N.W., isn't very far from the Oval Office. And the restaurant's website lists the famous politicians and media who've dined there.  We saw no one of name familiarity; but that could have been because we were so focused on the many flavors and designs of the modern American cuisine created by Chef Tony Conte, that we didn't notice the other diners. 

We, who live in Pacific Northwest coastal cities, admit to being 'fish snobs' and ask questions like, "Is this wild or farm raised?"  We like 'em wild out in these parts.  So when our delightful, young waitress answered our question about the salmon, saying it was farm raised near Maine and saw our response she quickly added, "it is a boutique farm!"  Our burst of laughter had her trying harder to explain that the chef would only use boutique salmon which only made it more humorous.

A boutique farm raised salmon might be worth a try but none of us could bring ourselves to do it. 
However, Chef Conte's roasted beet salad will call me back again when in DC; hopefully I'll be lucky enough to be served by the same waitress.

Doing DC in a Day

It's possible to 'Do DC in a Day."  I just did it Monday, but I know I had but a teaser of all the city had to offer . . . there's a lot more out there to see - next time. I was in our nation's capital for a conference and had most of a day for sightseeing - thanks to flight and meeting schedules not meshing.  So, with temperatures in the 80's and blue skies above, I set out to see as much of  Washington D.C. and its neighbor where I was staying, Arlington, Virginia as I could in a few hours.

DC' area Metro Map got me where I was going

I used  Metro which provided a cheap and safe alternative to a taxi.  DC, however, could learn from Paris where a simple carnet (ticket) system gets you where you want to go on the Metro.

But with the help of some very nice humans who work for DC Metro, I mastered their computerized ticket machine (figure out destination, then figure out fare, then load money into machine to load ticket). I should have purchased a day-pass which would have simplified the purchase and saved me money. Even with help, I didn't quite do it right and  ended up spending more than I should have, but for my $8 (the pass was $7, a fellow tourist told me) I had a great afternoon's outing.

(Note:  After last fall's Athen's Metro pickpocket experience, I enter any big city train with arms firmly wrapped around my bag and ready for battle. I noticed on this subway, women with large bags wide open -- one woman had her wallet sticking out of the top -- and no one seemed to pay any attention to them - except me; I was flabbergasted. Maybe there is something to their 'safe form of travel' claim? Still made me nervous seeing all those open bags).

The Washington Monument from the Metro entrance on The Mall

I love DC. Emerging from the depths of the Metro tunnel (and it is a deep one) on to The Mall, I was again reminded of why: 

The U.S. Capitol

My afternoon was filled with the sights and sounds along The Mall. It cost me nothing more than my Metro fare.  And speaking of fare, we ate some of the best culinary fare I've had in a long time. Guaranteed to make your mouth water, watch for my next post.

This carousel has operated on The Mall since 1967